Why do we give exams?
I mean, really. Why do we do this?
I just finished grading my Latin mid-terms; and to the nth degree, I was impressed by only one thing: that after a semester of formative assessment, these summative assessments did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to better help me understand how well my kids 'get' the material.
It's time to get beyond exams. Beyond the manufactured stress. The false sense of urgency.
Let's teach kids constructively, assess them formatively, and put them in situations where the stress and urgency is real.
Make them earn their learning everyday, not cram for it in the last helpless minutes.
Exams are Over! (if you want it).
Bake: Almond-Cardamom Cake
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Recipe blogs where there’s 16 pages of diary entry for a 20 line recipe are
so annoying, aren’t they? I’ll endeavor to do this right. First off, I’ll
say t...
Cheers to that! I'm writing mine write now. Or, avoiding writing them by checking out blogs. Bah humbug.
ReplyDeletei just finished grading mine. It is depressing how poorly they do. They do not study. I even give part as a take home (science it is a design project ; geometry it was constructions) 25% of geometry students did not do the take home part (only 33% of the exam grade). I spend more time trying to figure out ways to get them to pass.
ReplyDeleteThe constant complaint at our school is how poorly the students do on exams, but we have found that is because they just do not study. Not sure that means we need to get rid of them, but we need to analyze what we are attempting to do.
I no longer use "tests" as an assessment tool in my grade 7/8 class. Along with this, I also do not use Comprehension Questions or Vocabulary lists. To me these are just time fillers and only work for those students that have good memories. The problem that I face with this is that in high school they still do use testing as the main assessment tool. I have to give my kids meaningless tests and questions to train them how to function in a high school learning environment. It breaks my heart!
ReplyDeleteI give the exams the county mandates. Strangely, however, each quarter so far I have somehow lost the scores when it came time to factor their grades. I just make do without them, somehow.The county can have what they want -- I'll stick with what I know about my kids and what they show me regularly to determine their progress.
ReplyDeleteNobody rat me out, though....I'd hate to have someone try and help me improve my organizational system or something.
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ReplyDeleteWe have no choice but to give not only midterms and finals (designed by the district) but they now want quarterly exams. What's the point? Data. They feel that this numeric data can be used to analyze student performance and see what parts need fixing.
ReplyDeleteI can tell them right now that many students will never do great on a written test. But, if the same student can apply the same material to successfully complete a project, haven't they proven their mastery of the subject?
I have plenty of students who study and do well, study and do poorly, don't study and do well, and don't study and do poorly. What does that say about the test? Is the data we get from these single point assessments really worth anything? How about the student who gets "A's" in class but a "C" on the midterm or final? What does that mean?
And the worst - the fact that schools and districts are only measured by standardized test scores. Nothing else matters. All focus and emphasis is on these tests. In CT, the last state test is given in 10th grade. Guess which grades get the most support and work - Grades 9 and 10 because they are preparing for the exam.
So sad that in this day and age we only assess our students with multiple choice exams.
Imagine that all assessment was embedded in learning... and portfolio was the way someone demonstrates what they know what they can do and what they understand... I (as a student) always found exams to be an artifical exercise. How can any thing be useful where you cram (study), do well, and then 2 weeks later if you wrote it again, you might actually fail. Memorization isn't a great measurement of what someone has learned is it? It's got to change but the system is stuck in data land... how to fix the system so it values the right measurements? That's the question perhaps.
ReplyDeleteI found myself similarly frustrated. I tried a new project-based midyear assessment with my senior Spanish class this year. What do people think?
ReplyDeletehttp://profespringer.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/21st-century-assessment-spanish-5-midyear-exam/